


Letters to an indirect friend

by Ashild



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Epistolary, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-06-21 07:16:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 37
Words: 6,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15552471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashild/pseuds/Ashild
Summary: Harry is very curious about his parents. At his first visit to Hagrid he asks if there are any school friends he could write to for stories.





	1. September 6th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry contacts Remus

Dear Mister Lupin

I’m writing to you because my friend Hagrid says you used to know my father.

~~I don’t know much~~

~~The Dursleys never~~

I was wondering if you might be able to tell me something about him? Or maybe you have some pictures I could borrow to have a look at if it's not too much trouble? I started Hogwarts this year and found out about the wizarding world and I would really like to know more about my parents. If you don’t want to write to me about my father, do you think you know anyone else he knew that I could write to?

With regards

Harry Potter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Harry has low expectations.  
> I'm not sure how this will update yet, but let me know if you like it and are interested in more. I've written a bit more, and I've an outline for first year.


	2. September 7th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus answers

Dear Harry,

I am so happy to hear from you! It has been close to ten years since I’ve seen you, and I imagine you’ve grown quite a bit since then. There should be five pictures in the envelope which were all that I could find immediately, but I have several more stored away that I’m going to go looking for right after I’ve sent this letter.

Of course I would love to tell you about your father. I wasn’t as close to your mother, but Lily and I were both prefects together, so I’m sure I could tell you some things about her as well. James was one of the most loyal friends a person could have. He was smart and talented, but never let that prevent him from being kind or having some fun. We shared a room for seven years, and I don’t think he ever slept the night without snoring. All the other Gryffindor boys learned to sleep through it or cast a silencing charm. He often woke up unable to speak because someone cast silencio on him while he was asleep. Now, he would never admit that he snored, and would occasionally cast at anyone he suspected had silenced him, which might have contributed to him learning silent casting.

If you want to know anything specific, please tell me. I would also very much like to know how you are doing. _The_ _Prophet_ listed you among the new Gryffindors, and as an alumnus I have to congratulate you. Are classes going well? Have you made any friends in your year yet? Hagrid is a very nice person, and I’m very happy you are getting along with him.

In the end I have an apology to make. I never contacted you while you were living with your relatives, as it was my understanding they didn’t wish for any contact with anything related to magic. Nevertheless, I should have checked up on you, and I had no idea you were unaware of the wizarding world.

If you ever need anything, please write to me. I would be very happy if you wished to continue corresponding with me.

With all my regards

Remus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Remus. I get the impression in canon that he has had a really hard and lonely time for twelve years before 3rd year, and he is trying not to unload a decade's worth of issues on Harry.


	3. September 8th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry likes hearing about his parents.

Dear Remus,

Thank you so much for the pictures! I’ve never seen a picture of myself that little. Mum looks really pretty in her wedding picture, and they both look really happy. Dad sounds a bit like Seamus Finnigan, who also snores, but he doesn’t keep me from sleeping.

I’m friends with Ron Weasley who is very nice, and he also has lots family in Hogwarts, so he’s knows a lot about how the wizarding world works. Mrs Weasley is actually the one who showed me how to get onto the train platform tuesday.

It’s okay that you didn’t contact me before now. I don’t think the Dursleys would have liked it if you sent me any letters, but I would also really like to continue writing.

Classes are alright. The only one that’s really bad is Potions, but that’s mostly because Professor Snape doesn’t like me. Transfiguration is difficult, but it was so cool when Professor McGonagall started the first class turning into a human from a cat. Have you ever seen anyone do that?

I don’t know what specifically I want to know about my parents. When did they get together? Did they like each other for a long time?

Also, what do you do for a living?

Harry


	4. September 10th

Dear Harry,

I’ve finally searched through some old things and found quite a few pictures. They’re in the parcel to survive the flight. I hope I’m not exhausting your owl. She seems content enough if I feed her some bacon though.

I’ve met Arthur and Molly Weasley, though I don’t know them well. Ron is their youngest, isn’t he? They seem like a lovely family. Do you have any favourite things which he has shown you?

Did your relatives not take you to the train station? Petunia would have known how to get to the platform.

Snape was in the same year as James and I. He might still have some resentment towards your father for some of the things we did to him.  They had a rivalry in school which I’m not proud to say I often got carried away with. Sometimes that rivalry got taken too far and Snape got the brunt of it. It’s not right of him to take it out on you, but know that it probably isn’t personal. Probably. I don’t know how bad your brewing is.

Your mother was one of the best in her class at potions. Snape and she competed for the top spot in class often enough. She was also excellent in charms but didn’t have anyone to compete with. James didn’t share her enthusiasm for potions. His favourite subject was transfiguration and he was enthralled at Professor McGonagall’s demonstration. She did the exact same thing when we were in school, and yes, Animagus transformations are always interesting the first couple of times.

Your parents got together in 6th year. James was in love with Lily for a while, but he also wasn’t the most mature boy. They fought a quite a bit actually. She was smart enough to ignore him until he straightened out some. They didn’t stop fighting when they got together, but they did it over things that didn’t matter, and made up almost immediately. I think being Head Boy and Girl together made all the difference. She got to see him as a different person, in a different context, and he made the effort to be more responsible.

I am currently working at a store, a Tesco in London. Nothing too exciting.

Remus


	5. September 13th

13th September

~~You won’t believe~~

Thank you so much for the pictures! There’s so many of them, I haven’t had the chance to look at them all.

Something happened yesterday. I had my first flying lesson, and I was really nervous, but it turns out I’m quite good at flying. Anyway, Neville Longbottom accidentally lifted up on his broom before he was supposed to, and fell down, so Madam Hooch had to take him to the hospital. Then Malfoy ~~the gi~~ took his Remembrall, and I told him to give it back, but he wouldn’t, and flew away with it! I flew after him to get it, but then he threw it, and I had to dive for it, and professor McGonagall saw me! I thought I was going to get expelled. But then she introduced me to Oliver Wood who’s captain of quidditch team.

I’m going to be a seeker!

I don’t know if I’ll be any good, but Professor McGonagall thinks I will.

Malfoy is such a pain. He tried to goad us into fighting him and challenged me to a duel yesterday. I didn’t know what exactly that meant, but Ron explained it to me. It’s really odd, he keeps trying to pick fights, and I kind of want to give it to him.

~~Then we~~

~~When I~~

~~Anyway~~

~~Do you know anything~~

Thank you for telling me about my parents. I didn’t know Mum was good at potions. It seems really odd that Snape went to school with all of you. Maybe I should take a better look at my potions books.

Did my parents have jobs?

Harry


	6. September 14th

Dear Minnie,  
I’ve heard Gryffindor has got a new seeker. Congratulations! How does he fly? Is he as good as his father?


	7. September 14th

Dear Harry

Congratulations on your spot on the Quidditch team! First years aren’t supposed to play, but I don’t think anybody can stand between old McGonagall and the Cup. Did you know James was a chaser? If you have a fraction of his talent I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.

That Malfoy boy sounds quite exhausting to have classes with, but letting him goad you into anything is a bad idea. I hope you didn’t accept the duelling challenge? I’m sure none of you know any dangerous spells yet, but cultivating a rivalry isn’t a good start of the school year. It sounds like he is the instigator here though, and I don’t blame you for reacting the way you did. From personal experience, no reaction is the best way to make people like this stop, unless they’re doing real harm to someone.

When it comes to work, Lily studied to be a mediwitch, although I don’t think that was her final goal. There was a war on, and she was good at potions and charms, which is an ideal combination for healing, and that was a very useful skill at the time. The same thing applies to James. He practiced his duelling a lot, and might have qualified as an auror, which is a kind of police, but he never entered official training, as he mostly managed the family finances. They were twenty when they had you, and twenty-one when they died. They spent the two first years out of Hogwarts finding their feet, and fighting a war, and the next busy with you and everything that a new-born brings.

Have you been to Gringotts? You should have plenty of money to last you through Hogwarts in your trust vault, and I believe the goblins would be managing the business and any investments made by the Potters. Your dad wasn’t very into the family business, but he knew well enough how to maintain everything, so he didn’t actually need steady employment like others.

Remus


	8. September 15th

Remus,

When I looked out the window I was sure he was flying to his death! That dive was something professional flyers would hesitate to make, and while his father was an excellent chaser, I’m certain he did not catch a tiny glass ball in a fifty foot dive the first time he mounted a broom. It would be criminal not to get him on the team.

I won’t ask how on earth you heard of it, but the way gossip works in Hogwarts I suspect _The Prophet_ will have it as front-page news by Wednesday.

I’ve spoken to Albus about getting him an exception for the ban against personal brooms for first years. I have my eyes on a Nimbus 2000, and I’m not against reaching into my own vaults to make it happen. An anonymous note ought to remove me enough to counteract rumours of favouritism.

Love,

Minerva McGonagall


	9. September 19th

19th September

I just got a broom for a present! A Nimbus 2000! Ron says it’s a professional grade broom, and I’m going to be allowed to use it, Professor McGonagall says so. I don’t know who sent it, but if I got to see them I would say thank you. I could probably have gotten it myself if I have got as much money as you seem to think.

I have been to a vault in Gringotts, but I didn’t know that there were more. What business did my family have?

I’ve been training a bit with Oliver, and he’s been showing me what a seeker does, and he seems very pleased with how I’m doing. The rules are a bit confusing, but I managed to play cricket in gym in primary, and I only have to focus on one thing, so I suppose I’ll do okay. Draco Malfoy is still being a git, but I’m trying to ignore him. The last time I got baited didn’t go very well.

Harry


	10. September 20th

Harry,

The nimbus soubds fantastic and I’m sure you’ll do splendidly at your first game. James first game ended abruptly after he scored his first goal, and a Hufflepuff beater hit him with a bludger in the head. ~~Siri~~ A friend claimed a few knocks to the head was what he needed to manage his bloated sense of confidence, and that everyone must have an accident in their first game if they’re putting any effort in.

The seeker position is probably safer than the other positions, though, as they’re not really part of the main game play. Once you spot the snitch you have to be quick enough before other notice and try to obstruct you, but in a Hogwarts game that’s probably the extent of what you have to worry about for now.

Your grandfather started one of the most popular haircare potions in the western wizarding world: Sleekeazy’s hair potions. He split up the company upon retirement but kept enough shares within the family to maintain control over the business. Ask any older witch at Hogwarts and they’ll probably know the brand.

By the way, if you find getting let on the quidditch team despite every rule is not going very well, I’d wonder what you find a good outcome from taking young mister Malfoys bait.

Keep up training, and don’t forget your studies!

Remus


	11. October 6th

Hi Remus, sorry for not writing for a while.

I’ve done as you said and been busy with training, and some studying (I added some drawings of how Oliver is setting up our team). Are you doing good?

Lavender Brown knew about the Sleekeazy potion and apparently uses it all the time. Then she asked me for free samples?

I’m getting a bit nervous about quidditch. I’m not playing until November, but everyone else has played way longer. Angelina Jordan is new on the team too, but she has been flying since she was six.

Getting on the quidditch team is probably the best outcome ever, but that’s not the only time I’ve let Malfoy get the better of me.

Harry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh studying. Trying to be a responsible adultlike person.


	12. October 7th

Harry,

You don’t have to write to me every week Harry, I understand that you have other things to do. I have a bit more free time than you, so I can answer more promptly. I’m well, but currently job hunting. There was some illness a few weeks ago, and I had a few too many sick days, so I had to leave. It frees me up for other things though, so in a way it’s a good thing.

If you want free samples, I’m sure you have enough shares to ask for it. You might want to wait for someone special though, giving away your own product isn’t the best to way to run a business. This is your inheritance after all.

What kind of things have you been up to with Malfoy, if I may ask? Friendly rivalry is only good if it is actually _friendly_.

Don’t worry too much about the game. Just do you best in training and in the match, and you will be fine.

I hope you are doing well,

Remus


	13. October 16th

Remus,                                                                                                                               

It’s awful that you lost your job! Do you need any money? I’m sure I could get you some from my vault. I hope you find a job again soon. Also are you okay? What kind of illness was it? Is it anything serious? Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help!

I didn’t tell you at first, but when Malfoy challenged me to a duel, I sort of accepted. We were supposed meet at midnight that night, but he never showed, and I’m sure he tattled to Filch to get us in trouble. We didn’t get caught though, because we hid in a corridor Filch couldn’t enter.

By the way, do you know anything about great big dogs with three heads? It’s for a project in class.

Harry


	14. October 17th

Harry,

Do I really want to know why you are researching Cerberuses? Just so you know, the ‘It’s for a school project’-excuse was used multiple times by your father, and it was never for an actual school project.

I suppose if the worst thing to come out of your short-lived duelling career is running from Filch, I suppose I can’t object too much. Merlin knows I did it often enough with your father in school, and learning those skills quickly will help you in later years when the curfew feels more restrictive than at eleven.

You don’t need to send me any money. I have a few interviews lined up already and the money from that vault is supposed to go toward caring for you until you come of age.

The illness I have isn’t completely new but is very manageable. I only need a job that’s a bit more flexible, as I am determined to put health before career-building, which means going to a few more interviews than other people might.

Are you looking forward to Halloween? Hogwarts always celebrates it in style, and I imagine it is going to be different from what you are used with your aunt and uncle. How do they celebrate such a holiday?

Remus


	15. November 1st

You won’t believe what happened yesterday, Remus!

Somehow a mountain troll got into Hogwarts in the middle of the feast. Quirrell fainted, which is a shame, because he is supposed to be our defence teacher. Dumbledore tried to send everyone to their dorms, but me and Ron knew that Hermione was in the girls’ toilet crying because Ron said some stupid things earlier, so we went to tell her. Then, we saw the troll, even though it was supposed to be in the dungeon, and it went into the loo, and we heard Hermione scream! So we ran in to help her, and I hung on to the trolls back to keep him from doing anything to us, and stuck my wand in his nose. And Ron levitated the club (we just learned wingardium leviosa) and dropped it on the troll and it passed out. Then the teachers came in and took points because we didn’t follow the prefects, then gave us back even more for defeating the troll. Ron thought that was unfair, but it’s better than nothing. Hermione is a bit bossy, but both me and Ron think she’s alright, and he apologised for being stupid.

How was your Halloween?


	16. November 2nd

Dear Minerva,

I just received the most interesting letter, and I was wondering if you have any time to meet up and discuss some recent events? Let me know when you are available, please.

Remus


	17. November 2nd

Harry

That is most certainly an adventure! I don’t really know what to write you. That was some quick thinking of you and your friend. A troll’s skin is notoriously immune to many types of magic, and a club to the head was probably the most effective method anyone could have used. Although you did wonderfully, I can’t help but be very concerned about the entire incident. Didn’t the prefects do a headcount? How can your defence teacher be so incompetent? ~~Why didn’t you~~ Althoughthis is of course not your fault.

Are you uninjured? I’m sure Poppy could fix up most anything, but did you let her check you out after the incident? Do you feel okay after this? I know that when scary things happen you can feel fine in the moment, but sometimes it can come back at unexpected moments. I hope you can talk to your friends about what happened, and if you feel that is not enough, please know you can always write to me. Madam Pomfrey is also very nice to talk to, even if you are not physically injured, and if nothing else, Professor McGonagall makes excellent tea.

I have added some chocolate frogs, and it should be enough to share with your friends.

Stay safe,

Remus


	18. November 2nd

Remus

If you are writing to me about who I think you are, I could use someone else to vent to about the stupidity of eleven year olds. Perhaps tea tomorrow at six? Unless someone manages to produce another level four beast rampaging through the castle on a Sunday evening.

Minerva McGonagall


	19. November 4th

Hey Remus,

Thank you for the chocolate frogs, I’m thinking of collecting cards! Don’t worry anything about me, I’m completely fine. I’m honestly more worried about the match Sunday. Hermione goes to the library a lot and I’ve borrowed Quidditch through the ages to see if reading it can help. What if I fall off? ~~What if I~~ ~~don’~~ ~~disapoi~~ But I’m sure it will be fine.

Harry


	20. November 4th

Remus,

I’ve thought a lot of what you said Sunday. I’m sorry if I didn’t react very well to it, and I agree with some of your points. Our security is not good enough if something like what happened at Halloween can occur. It seems as though there were failing wards, but for that to just happen seems too coincidental. And you are completely right that our DADA instructor is not adequate. I honestly don’t understand what happened to Quirinius, or why he would think it was a good idea to start that subject right after he developed the neuroses that he has. However, after talking to Albus it seems we have no other alternatives. I promise to keep an eye on things, Remus. As long there are no more incidents, I believe we shall be fine.

When it comes to the second point you raised, I hesitate to judge the private lives of students when I have little knowledge of their homelife. There is reason for concern, but the one I had when I first observed the family in question seems not to have come true. Kindness, politeness, academic curiosity and respect for other people were not qualities I had great hopes for, and yet they are very present. If you find out about specific concerning circumstances, please tell me, but keep in mind the complications a custody battle would involve in this current political climate. The players who could claim blood ties are generally not good options. Unless there is evidence of serious neglect or other types of abuse, I’m not sure if we could make the situation better by using the current legal system.

However, there are things that can be done without going through bureaucratic hoops, and I hope you make sure to keep in touch, both with me and the person in question, especially when summer break approaches.

I’m really sorry to write such things to you, and it makes me angry that I can’t do more at the moment. I wish you all the best, and hope that a future wizarding world can be better for both you and everyone else I care about.

Love,

Minerva


	21. November 5th

Minerva,

You know I’ll do everything I can to ensure nothing bad happens to him, and I know you will do your part. Even when we were young and stupid and thought you were a bit of a stick in the mud, we still saw how you cared. I will see what he has to say when it comes up, but at the moment I am trying to build trust. Ten years is a bit to make up for.

Speaking of that, how strict are you about who attends the quidditch matches. I remember James parents occasionally showing up. There is security (I assume), but is it only close family allowed?

Take care,

Remus


	22. November 6th

Remus,

Meet me by the gates at Sunday, 10 o’clock.

Minerva


	23. November 7th

Hi Harry,

I’m very happy that you don’t feel as affected by last week as I worried. When it comes to quidditch, please don’t worry too much. I assure you, no one expects your first game to be perfect, just that you do your best. The first game of the year is not going to ruin anything, and afterwards you will have a better idea of the sport. I wish you every piece of luck Sunday, but and even if you things don’t go to well, I will still cheer you on.

Remus


	24. November 9th

Minerva,

Why is Dumbledore hiding the philosopher’s stone in Hogwarts?


	25. November 10th

Dear Minerva,

I’m sorry for how short my last letter was. Thank you so much for helping me attend Harry’s quidditch match yesterday. I know we discussed what could have gone wrong with the broom afterwards, and although Severus made quite clear that he thought I was involved in some way, I believe he was correct that it was an outsider casting on the broom. There really is no other way it could have spontaneously responded to Harry’s effort to stay on. You know who was attending better than I, so I hope you can find out.

Afterwards I met up with Harry and his friends, and we had tea together with Hagrid. It was lovely for a bit, but then it became apparent that Dumbledore has decided that keeping the most valuable magical object in the world, guarded by a category three creature, in a school with all the magical children on the British Isles is a good idea. Now, Hagrid did not intentionally reveal this, he simply told the children that it was business between the Headmaster and Nicholas Flamel when they were badgering him about the third-floor corridor.

I might not have gotten an O in potions, but I can put two and two together. This is dangerous, and I cannot find a proper justification for it. Yesterday I had half a mind to go to the Prophet with it when I figured it out. It is is a bigger security risk than anything else, especially if a couple of eleven-year olds are already suspicious.

What precisely do you justify this with?

Remus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't written more right now, and I have an exam next week so I'll catch up with the letters after that. I appreciate every comment, it makes me so much more excited about writing, but I don't have the energy to reply right now.


	26. November 11th

Dear Mister Lupin,

I can’t justify why we are keeping a certain object in the castle, as I advised against it. Believe me, I am trying to make the best of the situation, and I have been promised that it will gone come summer break. In the meantime, it would be nice to keep the situation _out of any correspondence_.

I hope you are well,

Minerva McGonagall


	27. November 22th

Hi Remus,

I hope you are well and that you are not still angry about what happened after the quidditch game. I really loved having you there, it was so nice to meet you, and Hermione and Ron both liked you very much. I’m very sorry if what Hagrid said upset about you, and I promise I won’t go to the third floor corridor again. I hope you have found a good job. ~~I’m very sor~~ ~~Please~~

If you have the time to write to me again I would be very happy to hear from you.

Harry


	28. November 25th

Hi again Harry,

I’m very sorry that I did not have the opportunity to write to you this weekend. To be clear, I am not angry at you in anyway. When I raised my voice at Hagrid’s hut, it was out of worry, as I do not think it is safe to store dangerous things in a school, especially when they are easily accessible to children. My frustration was at the situation, not at you. Seeing you play quidditch was one of the best experiences I have had in a long time. You were fantastic.

How is school? I have had a turn of luck and have recently gotten a job stacking wares in a store. I’m writing this letter before I go into my first day. How are Ron and Hermione?

I am always very happy to write you letters, and even happier to receive them from you.

Love,

Remus


	29. December 10th

Dear Remus,

Thank you so much for your last letter! School is okay, our last astronomy class was very cold, and everyone is being asked whether they are going home for the holidays. How are you spending your Christmas. It’s great that you got a job! Ron is staying at Hogwarts for Christmas, since his family is visiting his brother, and Hermione is going home to her family. I’m also staying at Hogwarts. It’s very nice to see all the trees, and Hagrid said there’s usually snow by the time Christmas rolls around, which I’m excited about. Do you have any Christmas wishes? I would like to get ~~a~~ some presents, but the feast here is supposed to be so good that I think it would make up for it.

Love Harry


	30. December 12th

Dear Harry,

I’m so glad you’re getting into the Christmas spirit! There’s more rain in London at the moment than snow, but I have hopes for a white Christmas. I have no particular Christmas wishes, other than everyone keeping their health, and that includes you. Do you have a wish list? Anything you would like from a shop?

It’s nice that Ron is staying with you for Christmas. How do you usually celebrate Christmas?

Happy Holiday!

Love Remus


	31. December 21th

Hi Remus,

The snow has fallen here, and it’s much better than I have ever seen. It usually turns into slush on the road, and is really brown, but here it’s just a blanket of white and I really like it. How is London? I hope you have a good Christmas, and that you like my present. I got Hagrid to get it for me in the village, he just finished putting all of the trees around the hall and I have never seen so many Christmas trees at once.

The term is almost over, and Hermione is leaving in a few days, but this weekend already feels like the holiday to me. Ron is teaching me to play chess. He has some really funny chess pieces, though they never want to do what I say.

Merry Christmas,

Love Harry


	32. December 25th

To Harry

From Remus

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. You can always come to me with questions about anything, but if you encounter more beasts, this might be of a more immediate help.


	33. December 26th

Dear Remus,

Thank you very much for the gift. Hagrid says that it will be dead useful if I take Care of magical Creatures from third year, and the ~~illustri~~ ~~ilust~~ the pictures are really cool. How did you like your present? I got way more than I expected. Ron’s mum even knitted me a jumper! It has an H on it. I also got something that belonged to my father, but the sender didn’t leave their name? I was wondering if that was also from you? It’s a cloak. Did my father maybe lend it to you?

I was also wondering what you know about my family beyond my parents. Do I have any aunts, uncles or cousins, aside from the Dursleys? Did you know my grandparents?

Love Harry


	34. December 28th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big update! If you're wondering what is new (per January 5th), everything from chapter 26 to this one is new. I had a break after school and spent Christmas with my family, so not much writing was done. I hope to resume a regular posting schedule, provided this semester isn't too hectic.

Harry,

I really love the cloak! It’s very nice for the weather we’re having in London at the moment, and I suppose you noticed how patched my current one is when you met me? It was very thoughtful of you. I’m so happy you liked my gift, and that you are having a good Christmas. You need to wear that jumper the next time I see you, and I hope you thank Mrs. Weasley properly for it.

When it comes to your extended family, I met your grandparents on several occasions, and they were lovely people, though I didn’t know them intimately. Their names were Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, and you could probably look up a family tree in the library. There are directories for these sort of things. Unfortunately, your grandparents only had James, and quite late in life, so you don’t have any other aunts, uncles or first cousins, but you can probably trace the family further back and find second, third and fourth cousins going to school with you. The wizarding world is a small place, and many are related, if distantly.

I always found great comfort in the family I made myself at Hogwarts. James was in many ways a brother to me, and I hope you take care of the friends you have, so that it can last beyond school. Blood family isn’t always the most important thing, and if you manage to surround yourself with people you care about, it doesn’t really matter where they come from.

The cloak was not me, but I am very happy you have it. I was wondering what had happened to it. We had a lot of fun with it at school, though I shall not mention episodes for fear of giving you and your friends ideas. Enjoy it, and try to use it responsibly.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love Remus


	35. January 19.

Dear Harry,

I hope the term didn’t start too abruptly for you. At the moment I find myself missing your letters, though I certainly have enough to deal with ~~ton~~ at the moment. Work isn’t as busy as before Christmas, but people are returning to their jobs and have their everyday needs to meet.

How are you enjoying the gifts? Have you gotten any use out of them?

I have gotten proper use out of my cloak almost everyday for the last month. It has been cold in London, properly cold, with ice and snow, not just sleet and mud. This evening I am leaving it on the hanger, though, as I need to run some errands that might leave it a bit scratched up.

Love Remus


	36. January 25th

Dear Remus,

I’m so happy that you are using the cloak! I got to use my own during Christmas, although now I have hung it up for a bit. During Christmas I took for a night walk, and I haven’t really been able to put it behind me since then.

Remember me asking about my family? Hermione helped me look up the Potters in a pureblood directory by the way, thank you very much for the suggestion, although the book was very odd. Anyway, the reason I asked was because I found a mirror when I went out walking. It was a very special mirror, which I later found out shows you what you want.

I saw my parents in the mirror. They were almost exactly like on the photos you have sent me, only they looked a bit older. There were also lots of people in the background who had the same dark hair as me and my father, and I think the were supposed to be the larger Potter family. I also saw my other grandparents, who recognize from pictures Aunt Petunia has.

What that mirror showed me keeps me up at night. I dream about what I saw, and when I wake up, I can’t go back to sleep.

Do you really think it is possible to build your own family? I know you were friends with my father, but are there anyone else from school that you keep in touch with today?

Sometimes I worry that Hogwarts is too good to be true, and that it will be snatched away somehow, and I’ll have to go back to the Dursleys. What that mirror showed me isn’t true, and really, how can I expect this magic to just continue? I know it’s silly. I hope I’m not bothering you with this.

Love Harry


	37. January 27th

Dear Harry,

Thank you for telling me. I’m so sorry for what you are going through. Have you talked to your friends about it? Or maybe a teacher? I truly believe that sharing such things make them better. Dreamless sleep is not a permanent solution, but if you need it, go to Madame Pomfrey and explain. She will not judge, I promise.

It is possible to build your own family, Harry, I guarantee it. ~~I am still~~   ~~There are frie~~ There are people I still keep in touch with, but my circumstances are very particular. There was a war on, and many people I grew close with I school are no longer with us today. That’s why it’s so important to take care of the friends you have around you today. Get to know the others in your year, including people in different houses.

You belong at Hogwarts. Every single one in your year are a hope for the wizarding world, and all of you with a smidgen of magic belong there. Others will sometimes tell you different, but never be that person yourself. Imagine what you would say anyone said that about one of your friends. That’s how you treat that voice.

You are never bothering me.

Love

Remus


End file.
